Turkana fashion: Hairdressing style defined with dirt, ash and sand

Turkana women are known for their unique hair braiding style, where a portion of their head is shaved, and other parts are twisted skillfully.

This traditional hairstyle seems to be gaining popularity among modern women who braids their hair in salons.

In the village of Nangereny, within Turkana County's Loima constituency, you will find women gathered under a tree braiding this type of hairstyle for their female customers.

Florence Kapua, one of the hairdressers from the region, says that though this traditional hairstyle is gaining popularity among modern women, they still set up their shops under trees.

According to her, this is because most of the materials required to do the braiding are found in the outside environment. 

"Our women's salon must be outdoors, under the trees. That's where we find the things we need for the braid the hairstyle," Kapua says. 

Elizabeth Elim, another hairdresser, says from the skills they have acquired over the years, they can braid all kinds of hairstyles depending on their customers' wants. 

"Here we braid the Rastafarian style, like mine. Another style we can also do is called 'Balloteli'. We braid all kinds of styles," Elim said. 

To braid these hairstyles, these women say they use ash, sand and animal fat. To effectively use these 'beauty products', the collected sand is crushed, and mixed with ash before it’s applied to the customers' hair. 

They say ashes are used in braiding to make the customer's hair firm and enable the braider to easily twist the thin lines of the customer's hair. 

While applying these products, the customer lies down to enable the braiders to work well. 

"You have to get dirty in this salon, with ash and sand applied to you. However, once you are done working on your hair, you'll shine brightly," Emojong Epuu, a salon, said. 

Once the braiding process is complete, a special sharp razor is used to shave one side of the customer's head. 

"When you braid in this salon, your braided hair can last for four months before you re-do it... This is original braiding style", Emali Teresa.